Leia Display System: The mid-air touchscreen you can control with your whole body

The recently-unveiled Leia Display System (LDS) is a lot like a large touchscreen, but with one important difference: its screen is not solid, but rather made from mist. This means you can walk right through the screen, manipulate displayed images using hand gestures reminiscent of Minority Report, or even interact with the display using your whole body.

The LDS is primarily targeted toward the marketing industry and events, and the promo images provided by the firm highlight a number of uses, including catwalk modeling and a Mercedes appearing to smash through the screen.

The firm also makes a brief mention of using the system for gaming, and one can easily imagine it proving useful in other areas too, such as large-scale architectural presentations and the construction industry, for example.

Put simply, the LDS unit itself comprises a frame, in which a thin layer of mist is created, blown from bottom-up. A projector then beams images onto the mist, and an integrated gesture control system allows a user to manipulate the images displayed.

Since the LDS only deals in 2D, not 3D, it can't be considered a hologram, and the basic concept of projecting images onto mist also isn't new in itself – take the MisTable and DisplAir, for example. However, the LDS seems to best its rivals in image quality and its accuracy also looks impressive, enabling handwriting or drawing in mid-air.

The LDS is currently produced in two versions: the smaller LDS S-95, which measures 95 x 65 cm (37 x 25 in), and the LDS X-300, which can reach sizes of up to 3m x 2.5m (9.85 x 8.2 ft). In addition, multiple LDS X-300 units can be placed together to create a massive display.

In operation, the S-95 consumes 400 ml (0.10 US gal) of de-mineralized water per hour, though the X-300 uses up 4 liters (1 US gal) per hour, so a massive display could perhaps become quite water-heavy to run if it was in use for a long time. Units are available to rent and buy, price on request.